Ceramic and glass business news of the week for November 28, 2022

PLANTS, CENTERS, AND FACILITIES

$60m West Virginia mining investment expected to replace vital resource from China

Rare earth metals that are currently purchased from China will soon be mined in West Virginia. Governor Jim Justice announced that a $60 million investment into Wyoming County was provided by Omnis Sublimation Recovery Technologies.

HyProMag secures grants for rare earth recycling plant in Germany

U.K.-based HyProMag received €3.7 million grants to advance development of the first rare earth magnet recycling plant in Germany. Estimated to cost €6.1 million, the “Innovation Centre for Science & Economy Northern Black Forest IZWW” project is planned to be commissioned in 2024.

Expanded clay production resumes in Estonia

At the Fibo Exclay (a LECA brand) site in Häädemeeste, Estonia, expanded clay had not been produced for almost 15 years. From now on, Estonia is taking back control of its production and expects to quickly reach annual production volumes almost comparable to those of 2007, around 350,000 cubic meters.

Enel announces intentions to build solar PV cell & panel manufacturing facility in US

Enel North America intends to build one of the largest solar photovoltaic manufacturing facilities in the U.S., expected to initially produce at least 3 GW and scale up to 6 GW of high-performance bifacial photovoltaic modules and cells annually.

First Solar commits to $1 billion solar panel factory in Alabama

First Solar, Inc. selected Lawrence County, North Alabama, as the location for its fourth U.S. photovoltaic solar module manufacturing facility. The factory is part of a previously announced investment in scaling First Solar’s U.S. manufacturing footprint to over 10 gigawatts by 2025. The planned factory represents an investment of about $1.1 billion.

Vetropack invests CHF 400 million in Italian glass plant

Vetropack Group will invest over CHF 400 million in a new plant in Boffalora sopra Ticino for the Italian market. The new, high-tech site offers more flexibility in production with higher capacities and a focus on sustainable processes. Production is expected to start in the second quarter of 2023.

ACQUISITIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

RHI Magnesita to acquire Indian refractory business Dalmia Bharat Refractories Ltd

RHI Magnesita announced the acquisition of the Indian refractory business of Dalmia Bharat Refractories Limited. DBRL is one of India’s leading refractory players and a long-term trusted partner to customers in the region.

Brick maker acquired as listed manufacturer grows its portfolio

Michelmersh Brick Holdings, a specialist brick manufacturer, acquired Fabspeed Holdings Ltd, a brick fabricator and manufacturer of offsite prebuilt brick products, for an initial £6.25 million.

UK, South Africa establish Partnership on Minerals for Future Clean Energy Technologies

The United Kingdom and South Africa are establishing a new Partnership on Minerals for Future Clean Energy Technologies to promote increased responsible exploration, production, and processing of minerals in South Africa and Southern Africa.

CEMEX and RTI awarded $3.7m cooperative agreement to advance carbon capture tech

CEMEX USA was awarded a $3.7 million cooperative agreement from the Department of Energy in collaboration with nonprofit research institute RTI International to fund a carbon capture study using RTI’s nonaqueous amine technology as it seeks to set groundbreaking emission reduction standards for the cement manufacturing industry.

Purdue University, GlobalFoundries partner to strengthen R&D, semiconductor education

Purdue University and GlobalFoundries announced a new strategic partnership to strengthen and expand collaboration on semiconductor research and education. Earlier this year, Purdue launched the first large-scale comprehensive semiconductor degrees program in the United States.

OTHER STORIES

NSG Pilkington commended for sustainable initiatives

Pilkington UK, part of the NSG group, won Company of the Year at this year’s Glass Focus Awards by British Glass at Sefton Park, Liverpool, U.K. British Glass CEO Dave Dalton says Pilkington’s sustainability initiatives had been essential for demonstrating the glass industry’s potential.

CEMEX strengthens commitment to decarbonize the construction value chain

CEMEX is continuing its efforts to lead the transition to a net zero construction industry by implementing several new carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects throughout its global cement operations.

Glass industry calls for EU energy pricing measures

The glass sector has called on the European Union for measures to curb energy costs and provide predictability to Europe’s industry. Currently, major increases in imports of glass products from outside the EU are being witnessed alongside the suspension of production in some industrial sites and postponing of industrial investments.

MARKET TRENDS

Costs remain steady for US glass and glazing manufacturing products

The seasonally unadjusted prices for materials used in glass and glazing manufacturing remained steady in October. Despite some indexes reporting marginal declines, year-over-year prices remain high, reports the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in its latest Producer Price Index.

NEW PRODUCTS

A new Skoltech patent: Defect-free graphene for flexible transparent electronics

Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology researchers patented a method that enables producing arbitrarily shaped functional graphene components on a transparent substrate with 100-nanometer resolution. The new approach helps avoid defects that arise during graphene transfer between substrates.

AvanStrate launches AvanRhino cover glass

AvanStrate Inc., a global manufacturer of liquid crystal display glass substrates, introduced AvanRhino cover glass in their latest product portfolio. The new AvanRhino cover glass adopts the lithium aluminosilicate family group with a special composition of boron oxide and silica to achieve superior performance.